Health Leaders Push Tax Measure

ELECTION 2004

Half-penny Increase In Polk Would Help Provide Care For Poor

January 4, 2004|By Christopher Sherman, Sentinel Staff Writer

LAKELAND -- The campaign that will culminate in a March 9 referendum on raising the sales tax by a half-penny to fund health care for Polk County's most vulnerable citizens is quickly taking shape under the direction of community health leaders.

A loose-knit network of Polk citizens dubbed themselves Citizens for Quality Healthcare, chose their chairman and treasurer, and registered as a political action committee last week.

The group began meeting immediately after the Polk County Commission voted in December to add a referendum to ballots that would allow Polk voters to decide if they want to maintain the county's health-care system through the sales tax.

Supporters of the tax face an uphill battle to explain the benefits of the county's health-care system to voters in less than three months, but they are optimistic that the issue will strike a chord with most voters.

"Health care is a very visceral issue with people . . . because it affects every single person at some level," said Ed Smith, director of Polk County's Community Health & Social Services Division, who attended the meeting.

One of the biggest challenges will be informing voters that indigent health care does not mean just health care for the homeless, but that many of the 2,300 people who will receive critical assistance from the Polk HealthCare Plan this year have jobs while being underinsured or uninsured.

Imagine a population the size of Lakeland's -- about 120,000 people with the surrounding areas -- that is underinsured or uninsured within Polk County, Smith suggested. That is the magnitude of the problem.

Polk County has had a public health-care system since the 1920s with a dedicated portion of the property tax. However, those dedicated funds have been gradually diverted into the general fund through the years to pay other expenses, and this year the County Commission took the remaining money to balance the budget.

The Polk HealthCare Plan is only funded until March, but if the referendum passes, county reserves could be used to fund the program until the half-cent sales tax kicks in Jan. 1, 2005.

Connie Kinnick, a nurse from Auburndale, volunteered to act as chairwoman of the political action committee, and John Johnson, a candidate for County Commission, will serve as treasurer. Such a PAC allows the group to raise money for an informational campaign.

In coming weeks, the group hopes to win the support of the county's hospitals and doctors and organize numerous speaking appearances across Polk to educate voters. The idea of a health-care rally also won support as a way to draw attention to the issue in the weeks before the vote.

"There's nothing like reaching out and touching people personally," said Smith, who noted that as a county staff member, he cannot solicit money for the campaign but can provide information on the program.

If the referendum passes, the money would be designated for health care and could not be used for any other purpose under Florida law. The County Commission could not divert the money.

Supporters estimated that one-third of the sales-tax revenue would come from people not living in Polk County.

Education will be the key to passage, supporters agreed.

"People vote with their pocketbooks," said Catherine Price of Lake Wales, who attended the meeting. "We can't make the assumption that people will support this just because it's a good idea."